


So, you say you don't like Peter Parker

by monquey



Series: Let's do all the stupid shit that young kids do [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Betty and Michelle being besties, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, I just really love MJ, I've been listening to Taylor Swift all quarantine, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Michelle is in denial, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, She is a conspiracy theorist, Teen Romance, Tony Stark Lives, just yet to appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24978283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monquey/pseuds/monquey
Summary: “I don’t fucking like Peter Parker.”“How many times are you going to repeat it?” says Betty looking at her nails with a smirk on her face.”Till I believe it.” Betty looks up with a knowing smile ”Fuck.”
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Series: Let's do all the stupid shit that young kids do [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808020
Comments: 10
Kudos: 76





	So, you say you don't like Peter Parker

Michelle Jones didn’t do friends, she didn't like sharing, she didn't like it when they know you so well to the point they knew what were you thinking. 

And then Peter and Ned appeared in the picture. 

Well, Peter was in the picture way before but not as her friend, he was there as a person of interest for what he hid, nothing else. 

She swears. 

So they stepped into her life like a tornado. Before them, Friday nights were reading till six in the morning, after them, it was watching movies till six with someone snoring and the other one asking her if she was cold. 

And then The Blip happened. Everybody came back as they left, and all the left behind were five years older. 

Peter and Ned came back with her and she would never admit it, but she felt relieved that she wasn't alone. 

When everything went back to ”normal” she also realized that everybody who blipped was a bit shattered and in crisis, a lot of the time. 

She wasn't the exception.

So now she has, what everybody would classified, a normal amount of friends. 

She has Peter and Ned, they are her best friends. She still doesn't answer the question they made her in a loud party (because that's a thing now, they go to parties together) 

”Who is your best friend of both of us?”

Leeds didn't ask with malice, it was just curiosity. She just answered with a “ Neither.”

And left them in the middle of a crowded room while she went for snacks. 

And deep down, she knows that she doesn’t see Peter as her best friend but she is not quite ready to admit why. Not yet. 

So that's that. 

Then we have Brad. That wasn't most of a choice. When she came back to school, he talked to her and ask for a pen in her History class, she lent him one and didn’t ask for his name. She didn’t care to be honest. So when the class ended and he returned the object, he started talking about the teacher like they were friends, and then ended the sentence with  MJ. 

That was quite the shooked for her. 

And then she proceeded to ask. ” Sorry, who are you?” 

That was pretty awkward at the moment.

He laughed like she was kidding. 

She wasn't. 

The rest was history, he has been in the picture ever since.

When she needs a pencil, there he is. When she doesn't get something, there he is. When she doesn't want to talk, sadly there he is. 

And it's getting annoying, not just for her. 

Because she has seen Peter face when he sits with them at lunch. She hasn't invited him. 

She never has. 

As well, we have Abe. 

He is that friend that you talk to just because you have something in common. They talk about political views, about the books that they are currently reading and especially about racism. 

Michelle has a lot of opinions, and she loves to explain them to Peter because he really asks about them, but some times it is not enough to talk and just be listened. She needs a response, an argument, a different point of view. 

So there is Abe. 

And the last one but not for that least important. Betty Brant. 

Betty always was kinda there. She talked to Michelle when she needed a partner in a project and an objective opinion. 

But now, it's different. 

One day she just sat down in front of MJ in the cafeteria and said ” Do you like movies? ” 

” Is this going to end with you inviting me on a date?”  Don't blame her, she didn't know how to react to that. 

Betty laughed for a few seconds. ” We are not there yet.”  She laughed a bit more and continued ” But I was thinking of going to the cinema. There is this movie called A Simple Favor, and it looks good. Do you wanna enjoy me?” 

She said yes. 

After that there were afternoons in the mall, eating ice cream after school, Betty talking shit about her sister, complaining about her parents, Michelle talking her about her brother, recommending her good books, Betty introducing her to all Taylor Swift’s songs, Michelle educating her about Beyonce’s story. 

And suddenly they were friends. 

Michelle never experienced that kind of friendship, the one you can talk about your insecurities and your feelings, and then sing to a song that probably relates to all that shit. 

She never had a friend that was a girl. Least one like Betty. 

She is all smiles and happy comments. Good manners but strong opinions. Charming personality and good grades. 

She is the girl next door that everybody shows you in the movies. 

It's a weird mix. She can tell. But it doesn't matter cause she loves (even if she says the contrary) spending Friday nights with Ned and Peter, and then Saturday afternoons with Betty. 

They mostly hang out in Betty's house ‘cause Michelle has yet to build the bookshelf in her bedroom, so there are books everywhere in her house. Peter doesn't seem to mind when he crushes there after patrol, but there is not much room to walk. 

So, there is where they are. 

In Betty's room with a Taylor Swift song in the back, getting ready for Flash’s end of school year party. 

”Getting ready” it's much to say, because they are just eating the snacks that Betty's mom brought them, and singing to  _ Wildest Dreams _ . 

”The other night I was talking to Ned on the phone and I think he feels the same about me.” 

He does. 

p class="p2">  
She knows that 'cause they were talking about it the other day while they were assembling legos. She was reading and they ask her if Betty talked about Ned. 

Now, that's the problem. 

Michelle doesn't know what to do in those situations. 

If she said yes, she would be breaking Betty's trust, and if she said no, she would be lying. 

So the only thing she said was. ” You should make a move.”  She didn't deny, neither accepted it. 

“Don't you guys are going to the party, like, together?” She puts more hummus in her carrot. 

“Yeah, but sometimes I feel like he is not on the same page.” Betty shrugs. 

”I'm pretty sure he is, I mean he gave the idea of even going to that lame party.” 

”I don't know. Did you bring a swimsuit?” 

”Yes, but just in case. I don't really think I will get into the pool.” 

”That's fair.” Betty stands up from the bed and goes to her closet. ”I was thinking of going with these new shorts I bought.” 

She stops talking while she looks for them. MJ looks at her phone just as a text appears on her screen. Is Peter’s. 

** I was thinking of going on patrol **

** Before the party.  **

** Do u guys need a ride?  **

**Don't worry**

** Betty's mom is taking us there  **

** Okay **

** See u there then.  **

** ;)  **

**Are we ubbering back?**

** No  **

** May lend me the car **

**Pete**

** I already died once  **

** Let me get to graduation  **

** Haha  **

** MJ you are so funny **

** Lmao **

** I was being sarcastic **

** If you didn't catch it  **

**Okay loser**

** See u later  **

** Wryd  **

**Getting ready**

** Eating hummus **

** Listening to  _ Love Story _ **

** Wryd  **

** Watching that documentary you said **

** Gtg though  **

** Crime calls me  **

** Text u when we r there  **

**Cool**

”Who text you that you are smiling so much? Is it Brad? Tell me it is not Brad.” Betty sits in the chair desk filing her nails. 

“Oh no, it was Peter. He was asking if we needed a ride.” She puts her phone away and looks at Betty. “What?” 

The blonde is looking at her in a strange way. 

”Do you like Peter?”

”What?”

”You know, do you like him as more than a friend?” 

”No. Why would I like him?” 

”I don't know, you tell me. You are the one smiling all over the place when he is around.” 

”I don like Parker. No in that way at least.” Betty keeps her annoying smile, the one that Michelle doesn't like it at all. ”Why wouldn't you want it to be Brad?” 

”Well, we kinda have a bet.” 

”What do you mean with ”kinda”, Brant?” 

” The decathlon team has a bet that you two would end together. You and Peter. I thought it didn't count anymore, but it's still running.” 

”Why wouldn't it count anymore?”

”Well... 'Cause we all blipped.”

”What the fuck? All this is before the blip?” Betty smiles in the most innocent way she has ever seen.

”Yeah. Come on! You can deny that you guys have something going on.”

”We don't have anything 'cause I don't like him.” MJ stands up and goes for her backpack. 

” If you say so. But there is a lot of money there.” 

”How much?” 

” Seventy that you end with Peter before we graduate, sixty that you reject Brad before Prom.” 

”Well, that's weirdly specific.” 

” I know, right?” 

Michelle stays silent for a few seconds and thinks about what Betty told her. 

”What if” She will regret this. ”What if, in a hypothetic situation, I end up doing both?” 

Betty smiles gets even bigger than before and MJ can feel her cheeks hotter. 

”That's a great question. I don't know. I don't think they have thought of that.”. She looks at her nails for a moment. ”Good thing you don't like Peter.”

Michelle wants to erase Betty's smile. 

”Yeap, good thing I don like him.” She totally ignores  _ King Of My Heart _ and keeps talking ”So I'm guessing you bet for me and Peter” 

”No, I bet for the Brad thing. I'm pretty sure he wants to make a move.” 

”I don't like Brad either.” Her voice is monotone.

”Good. Because with that money we could go to the Color Factory.” 

When she says that Michelle’s chest feels a bit warmer. 

”Cool. I think that's most possible to happen.” She has a thin smile on her lips. ” 'Cause I don't like Peter Parker.” 

”Well, technically you do like him.” Now she is just messing with her. 

”I don't.”

”You are friends with him because you like him, right?”

”I mean yeah-” 

”And before being friends you observed him a bit didn't you? You were observant, not obsessed with him.”

”Who told-” 

”Liz.” Betty finds the right color for her nails before she adds ” My point is that you like him, because if you didn't then you wouldn't be her friend.”

”I wouldn't go that far.” 

”Oh, yeah Jones, say whatever you want. You like him.” 

“I don’t fucking like Peter Parker.” 

“How many times are you going to repeat it?” says Betty looking at her nails with a smirk on her face.

”Till I believe it.” Betty looks up with a knowing smile ”Fuck.” Michelle says under her breath.

”Oh my God, seriously?” 

”I mean yeah, I like him as a friend. You said it yourself.” Betty sighs in defeat. ”But as another thing, I don't think so.” Ending that with  _ You Are In Love _ in the back doesn't seem quite fitting. 

”Well, if you clearly don't like him. Then what's so special about him?”

_ He is Spider-man.  _ She doesn’t say it because she knows, that's not the most special thing about Peter Parker. 

”Nothing. Why would you think that I think he has something special?”

”MJ, when he answers correctly, you always smile and say  "good job, Parker." You don't do it with anyone else” In her defense, she didn't realize she was doing it, till now. ”And when he is around, you are always in a good mood, you even smile more often. So, you are telling me that Peter doesn't affect you in any way?”

She just looks at Betty in a bit of shook because if she realized of all that, then everybody could know. 

”I mean, I don't know, I don't think  _affect me_ it's the right word, but objectively he is a good person, always with a smile and in good mood, so it's kind of inevitable.”

”I always talk to you with a smile and a good mood, and I still don't know when it's your birthday.”

“June 10th” She doesn't give it more thought before she speaks.

”Oh my God, MJ, it was one week ago. Why didn't you tell me?” Betty looks truly frustrated.

”You didn't ask” She feels a bit bad for not telling her, and her voice comes out high pitched. Defensive. 

”Well, let's count this as your celebration. No, that would be lame.” She thinks more. ”Did Peter and Ned knew?” Michelle just nods. ”Ash, and I was left behind. That's so unfair.” She stands up and goes for another color, this one for Michelle’s nails. ”Tomorrow we could go to Coney Island, invite Ned and Peter, 'cause I remember them, buy a cake and eat it on the beach.” 

When she is back, she brings with her a deep blue. 

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Oh come on, do it for me. You are seventeen, the Dancing Queen.” Michelle can't hide the smile and a little laugh. 

”Okay, whatever pleases you, Brant.” 

Michelle knows this is not the first time she can tell Betty really cares about her, but with  _It's Nice To Have Friend_ ending  in the back, she knows that she cares about her too. 

Betty jumps excited “But don’t you think I forgot about what we were talking about.”

_ ”I wish you would _ .” Michelle sings along with the song. Betty rolls her eyes and a laugh escapes her lips. 

”So, what do you like about Peter?” MJ was about to say her now, so known phrase but Betty talks first. ”Like a friend, or person in general. What do you like about him as a human being?”

”What is this? A session with my therapist? I'm pretty sure I stopped going two months ago.” She teases, huffing out a sarcastic laugh. 

” That is what friends are for. I can be your new therapist, with less money and not Ph.D. And with a good track on.” Betty stars painting her own nails. 

”Sure, I can take that.” Michelle gives her a small smile. ”What do I have to do now?”

”Tell me what do you like about Peter? Obviously in a friendly way. Like I did with Ned.”

Okay, that's easy. 

”So” she gaps and rubs her hand on her jeans. ” Where do I start? I mean, he is a good person, like I said before. I wasn't kidding, he is like, a genuinely good person. And it gets to the point that is exhausting. He is always over there being like, a good-hearted person. It's disgusting.” 

” Everybody knows that he is a good kid. Maybe too good.” 

”Oh yeah, because you are totally into bad boys, aren't you?” The both of them roll their eyes and crack a smile at the same time.”Well, continuing with my point. His good it's on a whole other level. There was this time...” 

_ They had just come back from national one week ago, the first one with her as Capitan. She and Peter weren't close friends yet.  _

_ They had won. _

_ It was a relief for her, especially because on the day of the competition, there was a lack of Parker.  _

_ She hated him for that, and even more because he didn't show up to the bus back. Something about a familiar sick and going back early, pretty believable if Spider-Man hadn't appear with Ironman in the news that same night.  _

_ He didn't come back to school either, not at least the first week after the encounter.  _

_ So, she could not scream at him like she would want.  _

_ When the first meeting after the big win had ended, and of course, Parker didn't bother to show up. She was putting the tables back in place. Mr. Harrington had to leave early and everybody had left already.  _

_ She was minding in her own business when her dad called her.  _

_ It was nothing out of normal.  _

_ He asked her how she was, she asked him if they were going out for dinner, he said yes, but with a plus one, Michelle asked who the plus one was and there was when everything went to hell.  _

_ ” Your mother.”  _

_ ”Why would I want that?” _

_ ”Mich, she just wants to talk.” _

_ ”Well, I wanted to talk five years ago and she didn't answer. That's not my fault.” _

_ ”Just give her a chance. She wants you to be with her at her wedding.”  _

_ ”Wedding?”  _

_ ”She would tell you more tonight... If you show up. But darling, she's still your mother.”  _

_ ”That she gave birth to me, doesn't mean she is my mother. Not entirely.”  _

_ ”I'm not going to force you to do anything but think of it.”  _

_ She had been even madder than before. She ended the call and covered her face with her hands. A distorted scream was heard in the room followed by a stack of books to the floor.  _

_ She was angry with Parker for not committing, was angry at her father for not telling her before, was angry at her mother for believing she could come back, invite her to a wedding and everything would be alright.  _

_ Well, that was not the case.  _

_ But what made her even madder was that when she looked up from the books, Peter Parker was standing in the door looking at her with a worried expression.  _

_ ” MJ, are you okay?”  He asked carefully, with a low tone like if he talked a bit louder, Michelle would explode. Or break.  _

_ ” Yeah. I am okay.”  She answered a bit too rough to be true.  _

_ ” Then why are you crying?”  He entered the room slow and careful.  _

_ ” I am not-”  She didn't end her sentences because she realized that in fact, she was crying.  _

_ He picked up the books in silence but still looking at her, she tried with all of her to avoid his gaze. She bit her lip trying to stop crying.  _

_ ” So... I know it's not of my business but if something happens to you, I can help.”  _

_ And he really couldn't, not much. But the fact he even offered it, made Michelle’s heart skipped a beat.  _

_ ”I don't think you can.”  It wasn't a whisper but it was close enough.  _

_ ” What happened?”  _

_ And all the anger came back to her. Now she was also angry because she started crying.  _

_ Come on Jones, you are better than that.  _

_ “You know what happened? ” She took a deep breath before continuing. ” I will tell you what happened. You always leave. You always leave us and come back like nothing happened, and pretend everything it's okay. Well Parker, let me tell you it's not. You can't disappear in the middle of a competition or in the middle of practice and pretend that you are not gonna be missed.” She took another deep breath and fixed her clothes. ” You are the only one covering chemistry. We needed you, and you weren't there.”  _

_ She wasn’t completely talking about him, she knew it. But he was there and she was having a meltdown, so yeah.  _

_ Peter froze. He didn't expect that.  _

_ ” Are you crying because I didn't go to the competition?”  His expression went from confused to guilty.  _

_ ” No, I am not- Aaagh.”  She sat in the first chair she found and covered her face with her hand . ”You can go, Peter. Like you always do. Don't worry.” It came out distorted.  _

_ ” I'm going to- I will just-”  She expected him to go, he didn't end what he was saying, so she thought, that was him saying goodbye. But he surprised her when she heard a chair being moved, and then she felt his presence next to her.  _

_ Michelle never had a person she could talk to. Her dad was there but she didn't talk about everything with him, and her brother did listen to her, but he would tell her to forgive her mother. Just like he did.  _

_ So, she never was good at sharing. She wasn't going to start now either, and yet.  _

_ Peter didn't leave, and that was enough for her.  _

_ ” I get if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm not about to leave you here. Crying. Alone.”  She felt his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he was there.  _

_ She hated him because it would be easier to hate him if he just left. If he told her his cat died, and had to get going.  _

_ ” Okay. But I would let you know that I am, indeed, angry with you for dropping us .  For the second time in nationals.”  She rested her forehead on the table and closed her eyes, while Peter rubbed her back in a comforting way.  _

_ ” Yeah, sorry for that. I had to... You know... Come back earlier... It was... It came out of nowhere.”  That is true. The alien ship came out of nowhere.  _

_ ” I know. I'm sorry if I'm being a dick. It's just that, you always ditch us when we need you the most. It's frustrating.”  She wasn't going to keep crying but she remembered the time she invited her mom to one of their competition. She didn't even bother to call back. ” Oh, God. I hate her.”  She said under her breath to no one in particular.  _

_ ” Sorry. But last time I check I was him.”  He tries to put a bit of fun in that. _

_ ” I wasn't talking about you. But I do hate you skipped practice. Why are you even here? You haven't shown up to school in days.”  She moved her head enough for her to still be resting on the table but now, looking at him.  _

_ ” Yeah, I needed my Physics book. We have a test tomorrow.” _

_ ”I know. I do come to school.”  Peter chuckled . ”Is everything okay?”  _

_ ”Funny that you ask, just after having a full breakdown.”  He gave her a thin smile. God knew she wanted to hate him. ” Everything it's fine. Just not feeling so good lately. That's all.”  _

_ ”Cool. If you need help catching up... I'm sure someone would help you.”  She awkwardly smiled back.  _

_ ” Thanks for the information.”  And then they stayed silent. He stopped rubbing her pack and she stopped crying. They stayed that way for almost two minutes. Till Peter talked. ” So... Can I know who was her?”  _

_ ”Way of being noisy, Parker.”  She sat straight and put her hands on her knees. ”  It's just a family problem. My mom in particular. She wants to talk after a long time and I don't know if I want to listen. But it does matter. You wouldn't understand cause you don't... Fuck.”  She was back on the table a bit harder than she would intend. ”I'm so sorry. I am a horrible person. I didn't want to- I didn't think-” _

_ ”Michelle, calm down. I know I don't have parents, and I get I wouldn't get it.”  And even when he was saying that, he still was being compressive. ” But if I had the opportunity to talk to them just once, I would take it. Everybody makes mistakes, it's human. But it's in the human too to regret them. But not everybody goes, and tries to fix them.”  There was a beat of silence. _

_ ”Oh my God. I am here sinking in self-pity and being selfish, thinking no one would get me and understand me. Now I feel bad.”  She looked at him, and he was already looking at her. ” Sorry for all... This.”  _

_ ” Oh, don't worry. It's good to talk to someone about this kind of stuff once in a while.”  He moved away some hairs that were on her face, and she tensed. If he saw her blush, he didn't comment on it.  _

_ ” Thanks.”  She really, truly, meant it.  _

_ ” Like I said. Don't worry.”  They stayed facing each other for a bit more than he stood up way too excited. ”Well, let's clean all this up, shall we?”  _

”So...” Betty, it's already done with her left hand and Michelle it's doing her right one. ”You are saying he is a good person because he stayed?” _All You Had To Do Was Stay_ was just ending and _Stay Stay Stay_ is starting, and that has to be a big fat irony. 

”No, I'm saying he is a good person because he cares. He always has.” Michelle moves a few hairs that don’t let her see and continues with her job.” Of course he cares, even if you don’t deserve the caring or the help. He does it anyway. I mean he is Spppp...” she comes off the nail. “ppecial. He is special.” 

MJ tries with all of her not to see Betty in the eyes, which it’s easy because she is fixing the mess she did. 

“You know I know he is Spider-Man, right?.” Now almost all her finger it’s green.

“Whot?” 

“Yeah. Ned kinda gave me clues. And then I remembered what Susan Yang said, and that he always has a place to go when Spider-Man is needed.” Michelle just stares at her without expresión in her face. “It’s simple math.” 

“Wow. That’s... wow. I...” They are counted with one hand how many times Michelle Jones has been left speechless. 

Now, she needs two hands. 

”Did he tell you?” Betty doesn't seem to care. 

”No. I figured out.”

”Of course you did.” She grins at her. 

” It's incredible we are the only ones that found out.”

”Well, I have a crush on his best friend. A friend that if you tell him something insinuating, he babbles around.” She takes a look at her now finished hand. ”What’s your excuse?” Betty raises an eyebrow, judging her. 

“I am observant.” She looks at her nails now, trying to find something to complain about. ”And also, it was kind of his fault too.” 

_ It was like a month before finals. _

_ Michelle was going crazy. She was studying nonstop for the SAT. She practically lived in the Queens Library. She needed a good score cause her father had a good job, but she can just relay on that if she is smart enough.  _

_ So there they were. In the library.  _

_ She was so tired. Her eyes barely stayed open without burning and the coffee on her hand tasted like a bad medicament. And the sky outside was quite literally falling 'cause of the rain.  _

_ She and Peter were waiting for Ned, he was running late and it was getting dark.  _

_ ” I think I'm getting sick.”  She was buried in her arms down in the table.  _

_ ” I think you are just tired. How much did you sleep last night?”  He was sitting next to her, looking in all the mess on the table for a pencil.  _

_ ” Enough that I can walk.”  _

_ ”Not the answer I wanted to hear.”  He finally found his pencil and start writing something.  _

_ ” The only one I can give, Parker.”  They stayed silent, and Michelle could hear that he kept writing. ” I need to go to the bathroom.”  She sat fully and looked at him. He put the back of his hand on her forehead.  _

_” I think you really are getting sick.” He pouted and if she felt her face warmer, it was totally because she was getting sick. “Why don’t we just go, tell Ned that he doesn’t have to come, and you stop drinking that thing.” He pointed to the coffee. ”It's disgusting. You drink tea, not that.” And God she tried not to smile at that, but it was impossible. _

_ ”Maybe you are right, which its a lot to say. But we have to go through this book for next Friday.”  She tried to find the book but their spot really was a mess.  _

_ ” MJ, it's Friday. We still have a whole week to do it.”  He put his hands above hers so she stopped doing anything.  _

_ ” Well, some of us like to do our assessment with time.”  She gave him a sarcastic smile that didn't show her teeth.  _

_ ” You. Need. To. Rest.”  He accented every word, looking at her straight in the eyes. She stared back.  _

_” Resting it's for the weak. And Michelle Jones it's not weak.” They stayed like that for a beat. Jones slowly realizing what she said. ”Oh, God. Did I just talked in the third person? About myself?” She frowned and he nodded with a sneer. ”We need to leave.” He giggled, and then text Ned to update him on the plans. _

_ When they were done and ready to go, Michelle went to the bathroom.  _

_ “ It’s out of service.”  She was tired and standing in the middle of the stairs and the elevator. Peter was juggling with their things. _

_ ” There is another one on the first floor. Let's go.”  They were on the third and last floor of the library.  _

_ Peter was going to take the stairs but Michelle stopped him. _

_ ”I am too tired to do all that and if I move too much, I will pee myself.” _

_ ”You are so dramatic.”  Peter rolled his eyes but still grinned while catching the elevator.  _

_ When the doors closed, Michelle gasped and rest against the wall. Just when she was going to talk, everything went black and the whole cabin shook. And just one second later the emergency lights went on. _

_ “ What the fuck just happen?”  She knew exactly what was going on, and God knew how much she wanted to go to the restroom.  _

_ ” Well... We stopped.”  Peter threw all their stuff to the grown and walked to the emergency phone.  _

_ ” Yeah. I got there by myself. I mean what caused it?”  She had her eyes closed and was cursing in her head the three coffees she took .  _

_ ”I know the same as you, MJ.”  _

_ ”Doubt that.”  _

_ Peter was about to respond when someone answered in the other line.  _

_ ” Hello?” _

_ ” Hello, this is Peter. We are stuck in the elevator.”  Michelle started curing him too.  _

_ ”Hello Peter, my name it's Adam. I'm sorry for the misfortune but there was a power outage because of the storm, and the generators didn't turn on. So you would have to wait till the power comes back on. But we are checking the generators, they would have to be working in any minute.”  Of course, she had to get stuck in a stupid elevator. She knew that Parker being right was too much for the day. ” Is it everyone okay there?” _

_ ” Yes.” _

_ ”No.” _

_ ”Oh no. What happened? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?”  Peter covered the microphone and spoke to the side, worried.  _

_ ” My bladder. I need to go to the bathroom. ”  _

_ ” God, you scared me .” He went back to the phone. ” We are okay. Just the two of us here.”  _

_ ”It was literally like a little tremor. What could have happened, loser?.”  Peter just ignored her.  _

_ ”That's okay. I will talk to you when I have more information. For the moment stay there, and stay calm.”  _

_ ”Like I was planning on going somewhere else.”  Peter ignored her again. _

_ ”Thank you very much.”  He put the phone back to the wall and turned around. ” Getting comfy?”  Michelle was laying on the floor with her head on her backpack.  _

_ ”I'm not going  to be standing all the time we are here. And if I sit, I will be bending and that's too much for my bladder.”  _

_ He giggled and then sit next to her. They stayed silent for just a minute when Michelle jumped a bit and open her eyes.  _

_ ” If you want to sleep, I can wake you up when we have to leave.”  He was squinting at her. _

_ ” No, no, this floor it's uncomfortable and disgusting.”  She kept her eyes closed.  _

_ ” You should sleep more. There is a lot of time for finals and the SAT. You are overworking without need.”  _

_ ”Says Mr. Eyegybags.”  _

_ ”Two months ago you literally were screaming at me because I wasn't sleeping enough.”  He tried to look serious but he is Peter, and he was with Michelle. _

_ “ Oh, shut up. I need to do well in those things. If I want to go wherever I want, I have to do good. And sadly my dream college it's not an easy go-to. ” There was a silent and then ” In deference to you, some of us want to go to college.”  _

_ ”Did you make us take the elevator just to get trap, so you can lecture me about this?” _

_ ”Peter, it's completely mental that in freshmen year you were literally entering every club because you like it and, I quote, they look good in college applications. And now, suddenly you want to live out of that internship.” She knew it's not an internship, and he just wanted to live out of Spider-Man.  _

_ “I know, but things change and I have the internship, and I like it. Mr. Stark helps me a lot.”  He didn't want to talk about it. Of all the things he wanted to talk with her, not that.  _

_ ” If you admirer so much Stark. Don't you want to, I don't know, go to the same college he went to. Study the same he studied or something that you like, and still can work in that industry?”  She looked up at him. Yeah, weird. But he didn't look back.  _

_ ” There is no way I can enter MIT.”  He rested his head against the wall.  ”And even if I enter, I would not be able to afford it.”  _

_ ”Parker, I don't call you guys nerds just because you build legos on a Friday night. You are smart, I don't doubt you are one of the most intelligent people in that school. ” He pressed his lips together. ” And for the other matter, that’s why scholarships are for. I counting on that too. Probably half of the students are counting on it. But if you want to feel confident enough, you have to do well in those stupid exams.”  She sat straight, supporting in her arm. “  I’m not saying that you should... quit to the internship... But I don't know, maybe I just want you to do what you want, and not what you think you have to do.”  _

_ When he looked at her, his eyes were shiny, not for tears, but for dreaminess, like she hung the moon or like the time she hugged him. (He almost died, she saw it on the news. She cared a bit more than usual that time.) He was going to say something but then he thought it again and just smiled.  _

_ ” You know, I've been written a list.” _

_ ”A list?” _

_ ” Pros and cons of not going to college.”  _

_ ”Tell me there are more cons?”  He chuck{ed, took his backpack, and rested it on his lap. _

_ ” I, actually, haven't finished yet. I write down when something comes to my mind.”  _

_ ”Till when are you going to keep writing down?”  _

_ ”Till the SAT.”  _

_ ”Can I read the ones you have?”  _

_ ”Yeah, sure. Maybe you are-”  He was going to open his backpack but the phone rang right at that time, Peter stood up and walked to take it.  _

_ And there was when it happened. She took the bag and opened it to find the paper, she swore she didn't want to find out, or well, make him aware that she knew all that time since Washington, in an elevator. But there it was, the red and blue suit so known all over New York City.  _

_ She froze and wanted to pretend she didn't just saw the suit of the vigilante of Queens, with a secret identity, in his school backpack.He hadn't told her for a reason, she wasn't mad. A bit hurt, of course. But he was going to tell her, someday. Soon, she hoped.  _

_ The bad news was that when she was going to close it, he turned around.  _

_ ” They said the gene-”  He stopped in the middle of the cabin, one foot away from her, looking like a deer that was just caught by the light of a truck.  _

_ The deer didn't make it.  _

_ ” Why did you open my bag?”  His voice came out little, like his throat had closed.  _

_ ” I was looking for the list.”  She was still, with the bag open and looking guilty.  _

_ The cabin shook again and the lights came back on. When the elevator started moving, no one said anything.  _

_ ”I'm so sorry you had to wait and sorry for the incident.”  The lady from the desk on the entrance started talking to them, but Michelle excuse herself and went running to the bathroom. When she looked over her shoulder, she caught the trace of a smile on Peters's face.  _

_ When they left the library it was still pouring. They walked to the subway and got into the train in complete silence. They didn't talk till they were outside of MJ’s house. The rain wasn't too bad at that point but they were soaking wet. Michelle was about to enter her building when he talked. _

_ ” MJ ” She wasn't facing him. ” Can we talk?”  The street was almost empty, but the people that were outside were too worried about getting home.  _

_ ” Sure”  She didn't turn around 'cause she is a coward.  _

_ ” Can you look at me?”  And she did. It was the wrong decision because when she saw the guilt and remorse, she felt like shit. ” I’m sorry I didn't tell you before. I was planning on telling you, but I haven't told anyone yet, not voluntarily. So I wanted to tell you in the right way, but every time I tried, I panicked 'cause I like being friends with you and in every scenery in my head, you ended up mad. Are you mad?”  He talked too fast and she was pretty sure his voice cracked like four times.  _

_ He had an intense look that in a way was so... Vulnerable.  _

_ ” I'm not mad.” And she really wasn't, but her voice had a hard time catching up. ” If it makes you feel better, I already knew.”  Then he looked more guilty than before.  _

_ Great job, MJ. You were killing it. _

_”What? Sin... Since when? How?” _

_ “Washington.” _

_ “Wha...what? That long?”  _

_ “Well, in Washington started my suspicious.”  _

_ He was amazed, confused, and a bit terrified. But after two seconds he started laughing like a maniac. She didn't expect that at all. She was standing there, under the rain, soaking wet, and she was pretty sure Peter was starting to get the symptoms of a breakdown and he would start crying any time soon.  _

_ He did, but not for the reason she believed. He was crying for the laugh, he put his hands on his stomach and all.  _

_ ”Parker, what the fuck is going on with you?”  She was annoyed. ” Now I'm getting mad .” _

_” It's just that I was so worried about telling you. How would you react, if you would stop being our friend, you were gonna stop talking to us.” He stopped the laugh and look at her right in the eyes. She preferred him laughing. ”And you already knew. Of course, you already knew.” _

_ “I’m starting to regret what I said in the elevator.”  He starred at her with a cocky smile. _

_ ”Oh no, what did you said? That I was really smart.” _

_ ”Not quite like that.” _

_ ”Oh, but you said, and I quote, you are one of the most intelligent people in that school.” _

_ ”Shut up.”  She hit him on the shoulder playfully with a sheepish smile.  _

_ ”Thanks.” _

_ She frowned in confusion. ” For what?”  _

_ ”For everything.” _

_ ”That's the most cliche thing you could ever say.”  He huffed a giggle and continued. _

_ ” I mean  thanks for what you said in the elevator. Thanks for believing in me and for supporting me, even if you disagree with my decisions.” _

_ ”Those are very poor.”  _

_ ”And thanks for not being angry.”  He was looking at her with such calm and ease, with glossy eyes and a broad smile.  _

_ ” You are saving people. I think I would be a dick if I get angry about that. Though I do have lots of opinions in the methods, and your safety.” _

_ ”Why am I not surprised?”  _

_ ”Peter, three months ago that octopus guy throw you out of a building.”  _

_ ”Not my best, I gotta admit.”  He didn't stop smiling in any second, she didn't either. He looked carefree like he never did before. ” Wait a minute. Did you know at that time?”  She nodded. ” That's why you hugged me after I give you a donut?” _

_ ”That was a really good donut.”  _

_ ”MJ.”  He cried out, annoyed.  _

_ ”Don't blame me. For a hot minute, I thought you had died.”  His smile got even bigger. ” I have a question though.” _

_ ”Yeah?” _

_ ”Do you eat your partner after sex?”  His smile disappeared and he started to blush too much for being healthy. Michelle found it hilarious. ” I'm just kidding.”  He gasped relieved, still blushed. But she was Michelle Jones, it wasn't going to be that easy. ” You are a male and a virgin. How in the world you would know that? Not yet at least.”  _

_ ”MJ.”  He covered his face with his hands and she could not resist laughing anymore.  _

_ ”Don't be a baby. But a do have a serious question.”  He nodded behind his hands.  ”Can you call an army of spiders? Like that guy in L.A. can do with the ants.” _

_ ”I thought it was serious.”  He uncovered his face. ” His name it's Ant-Man and not, I can't do it.  _

_ ”Pfff. Why I even bother?” She rolled her eyes. He did too. They both smiled after.  _

_ ” Well, I think I have to get going.”  She didn't want him to go, but it was still raining and if she kept the wet cloth, she would get sick.  _

_ ” Yeah, you better do. Bye, Spidy-Boy.”  He rolled his eyes again, and she hit him on the shoulder.  _

_ ” So, I don't get a hug this time?”  Bold of him.  _

_ ” I don't see a donut.”  _

_ ”Oh yeah, my bad. Bye then.” He turned around abruptly. _

_ ” Hey, that was just rude.” _

_ ”Well, I'm the one who didn't get a hug.”  He stopped not even two feet away from her because he is predictable.  _

_ She is not.  _

_ ” 'Cause you are annoying.” _

_ ”And I'm the rude one.” _

_ ”You are getting too snarky. I don't think I'm a good I fluence.”  He turned on his heels with his hands on the back pocket of his jeans.  _

_ ” Yeah, the worst actually.”  _

_ ”If you don't leave we are gonna get sick.” She put her hands on the pockets of her jacket.  _

_ ” Maybe you, I don't get sick.”  He smirked. _

_ ”Of course you don't. You are the amazing Spider-”  He moved fast enough to cover her mouth with his hand. ” You are so dramatic. There is literally no one here.”  _

_ ”Oh, shut up.”  _

_ ”Okay. Now go. It already dark.” _

_ ”Oh no, what will be of me?”  He put the back of his hand on his forehead faking dramatics. _

_ ”Okay. Bye, Spidy.”  And then she kissed him on the cheek 'cause she is totally not predictable. He choked with air or rainwater, she didn't know. But he was surprised, that was a fact. But he was also pleased. ” Better than a hug?”  It came out way more flirty than she intended.  _

_ ”Way better .” He had a dreamy smile on his face.  ”I should go.” _

_ ” Well, that's what we’ve been trying all this time.” She tried not to smile back.  _

_ ” Yeah... Bye, Em.”  He kissed her too (on the cheek) and then left.  _

_ When she got inside she wondered if they were flirting or it was just Peter being way too bold.  _

_ She kinda hopped were both.  _

_ She did get sick after that, and he did not. But it didn't matter much cause one week later they all blipped.  _

” I thought it was gonna be more dramatic. I don't know, screams, Peter crying. You making him cry.” Betty is doing the last cape with  _ Spark Fly  _ setting the mood. 

”I'm not that dramatic.” Michelle rolls her eyes while blows her nails. 

”You once throw a chair to Flash.” 

”I did what everyone wanted to do.” 

”Yeah. I guess.” She finishes her hands and look at the result. ”Are you going with that or you bring something else?” Betty stands up and goes to her closet, losing herself behind the doors. 

”I'm just going with this. Didn't fit anything else on the bag.” She looks at her nails and blows them a bit to hurry up the process. 

”So I was shopping the other day with my mom, and I saw this dress and it just reminded me of you.” She comes out with a navy blue strap dress that doesn't have anything out of the normal. Except that all around the waist there are Black Dahlias embroidery. ”It matches your necklace, and it would look so good with your combat boot and your black jacket.” 

Michelle doesn't know how to react. She only gets gifts from her family, and recently Ned and Peter, so this is new. 

She really likes the dress.

Because MJ doesn't say anything, Betty talks again. ”Count it as a birthday gift. I was gonna give it to you, but now there it's no excuse to not accept it.” She can think of a few. ”Do you like it?” Betty is getting nervous. 

”I... I love it.” Betty doesn't quite believe it. ”I truly do. It pretty and I love the detail of the flowers.” Then she is smiling. ”But I can't accept it.” Then she is not. 

”MJ, didn't you heard what I said? It's my birthday present to you.” Michelle makes a face. ”Didn't Peter and Ned get you something?”

They did.

”That's not the point.”

”So, what's the point?” They stay silent. ”At least use it tonight and if you don't want to keep it, I can keep it but you use it every time you are here.” 

”Okay, fine. If that works for you and makes you happy, then yes.” Betty jumps a little in excitement and goes to find her blouse. 

”Yesss, you are gonna look amazing.” She sings the last word.

”Do you have a white t-shirt to put underneath, that I can borrow?” She feels a bit uncomfortable.

”Sure.” She is back with all the things they are going to need. ”So, who gave you the necklace?” 

”Eh?”

”You started using it since your birthday. Now that I know when it was. So, It was a gift?” She nods playing absently with the dress. ”Who was it?” 

”Peter.”  _ Dress  _ stars playing and she blushes just a little. Nothing to worry about. 

_ Michelle's birthday was in fact, June 10th. She should be turning twenty-two, be in her college dream, and be a responsible adult. But no, she just turned seventeen because a purple dude believed in a better universe by killing half of the people in this one.  _

_ She tries to be chill about it.  _

_ So now, she is not even eighteen yet. That's weird but at the same time, it's not. And losing five years should give you the want to grow faster, not being a kid anymore, 'cause you lost half a decade already. But it makes you don't want to grow. Because growing up means changes, and it's enough with what they got.  _

_ They don't need time going fast, they need time. Just that. 'Cause the others just kept going, they didn't even get that chance.  _

_ So she turned seventeen, June 10th, Monday to be specific. It was actually just four days ago but Betty likes drama.  _

_ Her dad and brother Blake, made her a big dinner, really big for just being the three of them. It was on Sunday, 'cause her father was covering two shifts on Monday, so he probably would be back late. They did it one day before, with a candle and all. His father cried, his brother too, she sweated from the eyes. Not a big deal.  _

_ They ended up eating ice cream on the sofa, watching Sherlock Holmes. Waiting for midnight to hit. When it was already the other day, they gave her their gifts. Her father gave her his old Polaroid camera that he send for someone to fix, because his brother broke hers, and her brother gave her a vinyl compilation of Nina Simone’s songs. She had the same one but in the five years they were gone, her brother lost four vinyls of their collection. That was one of them.  _

_ The other day she woke up to her dad already gone and Blake trying to make waffles. They took breakfast together and when it was noon, Peter and Ned came for her. _

_ They fist when to her favorite restaurant, then they went to the cinema to watch  Just Mercy.  Later in the day, they ended up in Broadway, to watch a play.  _

_ ” Courtesy of Mrs. Potts.”  Said Peter proud because Michelle didn't make it to hide the excitement. She took the tickets and didn't let them go till they were on the door of the theater.  _

_ She pretended she got a present from the one and only Pepper Potts. She had met her before, they all had gone to the cabin and she even met Morgan. So she felt a bit more realized in life.  _

Meeting Tony Stark was a story for later.

_ The tickets were for  The Lion King and when they got out she was still too excited to admit it. _

_ ”That was amazing. I loved it. This is so surreal.”  She had the biggest smile on her face and Peter with Ned too. They all were so happy. ” This birthday it on the top three of bests birthdays I have had in my life.”  They were already out on the street. She was ahead of them for a feet. She stopped, turned around, and looked at them. ” Thank you, guys.”  And then hugged the both of them.  _

_ The two boys were huggers. That was a fact. So they were so happy that Michelle was almost as happy, or even more, as them. To the point that she was hugging them.  _

_ “Glad you like it.”  She got a chill when Peter talked on her ear. But she let it slide.  _

_ ” And we still have to give you our gifts.”  Said Ned on the other side, tapping her on the back.  _

_ They went to Ned’s first 'cause he left his gift there. They had to wait for him outside his house 'cause there were familiar that came earlier, and they didn't want to be there for three hours.  _

_ ”Are you going to do something with your family tonight?”  She noticed Peter nervous energy. He was playing with his hands and the sleeves of his hoodie.  _

_ ”No. We did something yesterday. You know, dinner, wait till it was midnight, all three falling asleep on the couch.” He nodded with a small smile on his lips. _

_ She was so happy. She felt lightweight like she didn't feel in weeks. After finals and SATs and so much shit. She looked at the flowers that Mrs. Leeds had next to the entrance and watched the sunset that was so clear in this part of the city. Where there were least building and more suburbs. She loved Ned’s house, 'cause he had a big garden full of flowers and different trees that were giving the fruits of the season. The heat was still suffocating. But the smell was not present there.  _

_ She felt something picking next to her ear, it made her turned.  _

_ ”Don't tell Mrs. Leeds. She would kill me but I couldn't resist.”  She was going to tell him he shouldn't be destroying the flowers, just ripping them off. But he was too close, looking at her with shiny eyes and a shy smile. And her heart melt. 'Cause he was looking at her like she was just as beautiful as the flower.  _

_ He didn't look away. He moved his eyes from the flower, to her eyes, then to her nose and ended one her lips, but returned to her eyes. If she blushed, he didn't say anything.  _

_ They were close, and she was pretty sure they were getting closer when Ned came back. _

_ ” Peter! Michelle!”  They heard Ned’s cousins. Ned closed the door. They were still next to each other. A bit exalted and when their hands almost touched, they moved them way too fast.  _

_ ” So I can't go with you guys. My family came by surprise, and my mom wants me to stay for dinner. I'm sorry.”  He had a bag on his hand. _

_ ” Don't worry, loser. We have spent all day together. Peter is just going to give his gift and call it a day.”  She moved her hand trying to say that really, it wasn't a big deal. But she saw the look Ned and Peter shared. Like they knew something she didn't. How dare they? _

_ ” Okay. Well. Here. Take it.”  And there was the awkward part of receiving gifts.  _

_ ” Thanks. But you didn't really have to bother. It was enough with the day.”  She took the bag and almost drop it.  _

_ It was an old copy of  Les Misérables in French.  _

_ She loved it.  _

_ ” I saw it, and remembered that you were talking about it in lunch a while ago.”  She opened it carefully and understood a few things. ” Do you like it?”  _

_ ”Of course I do.”  She beamed and hugged him tight. ” Thank you.”  _

_ After that, they left. Ned said he would say hi for them.  _

_ They head to the bus stop.  _

_ ”Are you sure you want to go to my house? I can walk you home if you don't want to.”  Peter asked when they were already waiting for the bus. He was reclined against one of the signs in the bus stop, arms folded. Trying to look cool, looking more like a nerd. _

_ ” Why wouldn't I want to go?”  She was truly confused, 'cause is not the first time they were together. Alone. _

_ ”I don't know. I was just asking.”  He smiled. Not so nervous anymore.  _

_ “ The other day I was on YouTube. Did you know there are people doing conspiracy theories about you?”  Peter pulled a confused face.  _

_ ” About me?” _

_ ”Spider-Man, loser.”  He made a sound in understatement.  ”One said that they put venom on the sperm that gave you life. Another said they did you the same as Capitan America but with spider venom, Black Widow venom to be particular. That would respond to my question, the one I questioned you long ago.”  _

_ He was confused all over again.  ”That's rarely specific. Who are ”they”?”  He ignored everything else she said.  _

_ ”S.H.I.E.L.D. Every theory says that you are one of them. An experiment gone wrong.”  She rested a hand on the sign with the other in her hip.  _

_ ”That's not so far from the truth.”  He twisted his lips. And for some reason, she couldn't stop staring.  _

_ ”There was this one that believed you were bitten by millions of spiders. And it would explain why you  got jacked.” _

_ ” How would they know that, or if I wasn't ripped before?”  He didn't hide the smirk.  _

_ ”Anyways.” She blew a hair out of the way. ” Neither mention Oscorp. So I think your secret is safe for the moment.”  _

_ ”Good then.” _

_ ”Even more now that Harry Osborn has disappeared from the map. ” She saw if their bus was coming. It wasn't . _

_ ”His father died, Em.”  _

_ ”Yeah, maybe. But he is the C.E.O of the company.”  She took his wrist and saw the hour on his watch. Quarter past nine. ”Didn't you say you knew him?” _

_ ”Know him it's generous to say. Apparently, my dad worked in something with his dad. We went to Elementary School together. We lost touch .” She hummed.  _

_ ” Interesting.” _

_ ”What's so interesting?” _

_ ”Peter, one of your father’s colleagues’ company was responsible that you are half spider.”  _

_ ”Are you going to do a conspiracy video about me?”  His eyebrow raised. _

_ ”I might.”  She stared at him with a blank expression. ” Ned could edit it. I have legit information.”  She shrugged.  ”I would keep you updated on my decision.” _

_ ”How thoughtful of you.”  He huffed out a laugh.  _

_ ” When is the fucking bus coming ?”  _

_ ” We can always-” _

_ ”I'm not swinging with you.”  She shut him down.  _

_ ” Oh, come on! Ned was so easy.”  His pot broke into a smile. _

_ ”Yeah, and now he doesn't want to do it again. That gives me ideas of how it is.”  _

_ ” It's not bad. Not at all.”  He interjected. _

_ ”Says the boy who can stick to walls and has fallen from hundreds of feet, and just has broken an arm.”  She raised an eyebrow. _

_ ” It's completely safe, I swear.” _

_ ”I don't know, Pete. You sound like Hadrid saying.”  She deepened her voice and made her best British accent. ” There is no safer place, except perhaps Hogwarts. And then we proceed to die.”  _

_ ”You are being overdramatic. It's totally safe and I have-” _

_ ”Look, there is the bus. Let's go.”  She smirked at him, winked, and went to get on the bus. Leaving him behind.  _

_ When they were going up the stairs, Peter nervous energy came back. They were just at the door when he jumped to turn around and looked at her. _

_ ” We are not staying long.”  And before she could even get to question what did he mean with that, he opened the door. _

_ ” Chelly, happy birthday sweetie.”  It was May already walking to the door to hug her. ” Happy seventeen years.”  She felt the kiss on her hair. That's what a mother would do.  _

_ ” Thank you, May.”  She hugged her tighter and then, she stepped back. _

_ ”Did you have fun? Peter was freaking out about-” _

_ ”Mayyyy.”  They heard a moan from the fridge.  _

_ ”But you were. And it's not a bad thing. It shows you care.”  May had a bright smile, kind and open, looking at the both of them.  _

_ ” I had a great day. Thanks to those dorks.” Her lips curved into a shy smile. ”And to Mrs. Potts. We literally when to see The Lion King.”  She said that, way more excited. May and Peter couldn't resist to huff a laugh.  _

_ ”Told you she would love it.”  Peter talked again, but now from his room.  _

_ ” It's good you had a  good day.”  May squeezed her arm and went back to the couch, just as Peter came back with an ice-cream pot, but no spoons.  _

_ ” Let's go.”  _

_ ”Where?”  But he was already out of the apartment, turning to the right. So the roof, she guessed. ” Are we going to eat with our hands?”  _

_ ”What assures you that in here, there is ice cream?”  _

_ ”Well, I hope. Because if not, you would ruin the best birthday.”  She ignored the dreamy look on Peter's face, and opened the door to the roof .  _

_ ” I would never do that.”  _

_ ”Good.”  She was going to keep talking, but what she was looking at, took all the words out of her mouth.  _

_ There was a cooler near the edge, three chairs and in the backrest, some Christmas lights that at some point all worked but now just the half lighted up. _

_ ”This was actually, how we would end. But Ned it's not here anymore.”  He shrugged and gave her a shy smile.  “If it’s too much, tell me.”  _

_ “Don’t be stupid. It is great. I was getting tired of the hard ground under the butt.”  She smiled in a smugly way.  ” Let's eat that ice cream before it melts.”  She walked to the chair.  _

_ They did eat the ice cream, more Michelle than Peter, but it worked. There were also three sandwiches from Delmar’s, three Dr. Peppers, and lots of candy. _

_ ” How long do you think it would take Ned to invite Betty out?”  She said with her mouth full.  _

_ ”I think he never will.”  He responded in the same way. _

_ ”Give him more credit. I think it pretty possible that he wants to invite her to Flash’s party.”  _

_ ”That's actually a good idea. Are you going?” _

_ ”Are you?”  She took a long sip to her drink.  _

_ ” It depends.”  He swallowed. _

_ ” In what?”  _

_ ”Are you going?”  She raised an eyebrow, he raised back with a grin.  _

_ ”Maybe.”  _

_ ”Then I will maybe go.”  There was a short silence, and she thought he was flirting. ” I don't want to be left alone with the dearly couple.”  Apparently, he wasn't. _

_ ”Well, if you put it in that way.”  She took another bite.  _

_ ”Come on! It will be fun. We can bet in who will get drunk first while drinking Redbull sitting on the stairs. Then we will laugh at Flash bad dancing, and finally avoiding Brad. Like, in general.”  She rolled her eyes, entertained.  _

_ ” Sounds like you have all planned. You can see the future now?”  _

_ ”Maybe.”  In all his boldness, he winked at her. ” I can even carry the bags.”  _

_ ”Kiss ass.”  She narrowed her eyes at him.  ”I'm not saying I'm going, but I'm not saying I'm not going.”  His eyes got even more sparkly, and he had mayo in his chin. He looked adorable.  _

_ ” Great.”  _

_ When they were too full to keep eating, they were left to share the last Dr. Pepper.  _

_ ” What time is it?”  She questioned him while handing him the can.  _

_ “A quarter to one.”  _

_ ”Shit. It's late.”  She started to sit straight when a hand landed on her forearm.  _

_ ”Wait, I haven't given you my gift.”  His other hand was in the pocket of his hoodie.  _

_ “Then hurry up, loser. My dad said midnight maximum.”  She turned to face him. He put his hand away.  _

_ “So, here it is.”  He took out a little box and with shaky hands, he opened it. And there was. The famous black Dahlia necklace.  “One day I was on patrol and I caught a guy that had robbed an Italian jewelry store.”  He took the collar.  ”And between the things he had, there was this necklace. ” He held it by the chain. He saw her eyes widen. He hurried to assure.  “I didn’t steal it. I returned everything as Spider-Man, then I came back as Peter.”  She finally took the necklace. ” It's a black dahlia , you know like-” _

_ ”The murder.”  They said at the same time. _

_ ”Yeah.”  He giggled nervously.  _

_ She loved it. She loved the flower and the obvious color. She loved the care and the meaning behind it. The fact that he listened to her, really paid attention to her, they both did, Ned and Peter. Because of those realizations, her heart went wild and there was something going on in her stomach. She wanted to believe it was because she ate too much.  _

_ She stayed silent way too long.  _

_ ” Do you like it?”  He was playing with his fingers and biting his lip.  _

_ ” Of course I do.”  And something in her gave her the courage to hug him. It was uncomfortable 'cause they were still sitting, but the smell of his cologne made her forget that.  ”Thank you, really. For all this day. It's going on my top three favorite birthday.”  _

_ ” Which is the number one?” _

_ ”My eleventh birthday. It was Harry Potter themed. My dad dressed as Harry Potter and Blake was Ron.”  He chuckled on her hair and a chill ran through her spine.  _

_ They stayed that way enough time for not to be awkward.  _

_ ” Can you?”  She showed him the necklace, giving him a clue what she was trying to say.  _

_ ” Sure.”  She turned around too suddenly, hitting him with her hair.  _

_ ” Sorry.”  _

_ ”Don't worry.”  He couldn't stop giggling and that cause she couldn't stop smiling.  _

_ He took more time than necessary. She didn't care.  _

_ ”I really do have to go, though.”  She said yet facing the edge of the building.  _

_ ”Oh, yeah. Let's go.”  _

_ “Don’t worry. I will call my dad.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket.  _

_ ”Em, he has to be tired. He worked all day. It's not a problem. Really.”  She put it back in.  _

_ ”I hate that you are so morally correct.”  He laughed at the same time he cleaned up.  _

_ When they were done cleaning, he proposed.  _

_ ” I can swing you.” _

_ ”I'm not swinging with you.” _

_ ”Oh, come on. You have never tried it before. It's like what you say: You can't judge a book by its cover. ” _

_ ”The worst that can happen with a book is getting bored. I will never try it. I like my feet on the ground.”  She crossed arms.  _

_ ”I can drive you.”  She made an exaggerated scared expression.  _

_ ”Swinging it is.”  _

_ ”Shut up.”  _

”We didn't swing though. I'm not ready for that, yet.” Betty chortles, and she is pretty sure is because _..._ _Ready For It?_ is playing on the back. ”Dam it, Betty. Did you made this playlist?”

She chortles even louder. ” It's in shuffle, MJ.” She's ironing her hear. 

” Aren't you going to get in the pool?” Michelle is organizing Betty’s desk. She has a lot of markers. 

”You always have to be ready.” She smirks at her. She is already done and at any minute they will be heading out. Michelle is yet to put her shoes on. 

” Of course.” She throws some markers to the floor, under the table. 

”You know, you never really answer my question.” 

”What question?” She can't reach the last one.

”Why you like Peter?” MJ hits her head with the desk. 

”Oh my God! I didn't want to get you nervous. I'm sorry.” She doesn't seem so sorry, 'cause she has an ironic smile on her face.

”Taylor doesn’t agree with you.”  _You're Not Sorry_ is playing in the back, and Michelle would really like a pack of ice right now. ”And I am not nervous. There was a spider.” Betty narrows her eyes. 

”But it doesn't really matter. I quite get why you like him.”

”I don't like him.” When she lies she bites her lip, she knows that. She knows, she is doing it right now. 

Betty doesn't care what she says and proceeds. ”You like him because he is a good person no matter what, which is really impressive because I haven't seen him lose his shit with Flash, and I mean, it's Flash.” She finishes with the iron. ” You like that he is Spider-Man, but you know that's not the only good thing about him. You think he is smart, like really smart but you like that he doesn't brag about it .”  She enumerates with her fingers. ”And you think he is hot.” Michelle looks surprises, even offended. It doesn't help that  _ I Think He Knows  _ starts playing. 

”What are you talking about? ” She frowns in misunderstood. 

”Oh, don't play dumb with me. You are a lot of things but not dumb. You think I haven't noticed how you stare at him during gym class, or the time you three got to school soaking wet and he was only with a t-shirt on.” God, she remembers that. But it would be a crime not to take a look when his curls were all wet, and he was pulling his fabric every time it got to sticky. 

She stares at Betty with no expression on her face. She doesn't know if Betty is way too observant, or it's just straight up noisy. 

Maybe a bit of both. 

”I don't like Peter Parker, no chance. But in a remote parallel universe that I like him, I guess those would be the reasons.” MJ says proudly, like she just won the argument. 

”You truly are a lost cause.” Betty sighs “Can you put your boot a bit quicker? Ned texts me. They are already there.”

They are leaving not even five minutes later, they pause the music in  _ Don't Blame Me  _ and Michelle swears, she would put the music next time. 

They are in Flash’s house in less than five minutes, 'cause Betty lives in the same neighborhood.

When they are already in the house, it is completely full. There are people she knows, she knew and people she has seen in school but doesn't know. That is one of the many downs of the Blip. She doesn't know half the people that go to school with her. She hasn't observed them enough to get the whole picture. 

She doesn't like that. 

”Ned and Peter are in the backyard. On the terrace next to the pool.” She indicates her but doesn't move. 

”Aren’t you coming?” 

”I'm not going to make it so easy. I'll be getting a drink if someone asks.” She makes emphasis on someone, then she turns around and leaves Michelle alone in the entrance. 

She looks between all the people. There is a catchy pop song mixed with an electronic one, Flash is doing a horrible job as a DJ, so the real DJ takes control. She sees Brad sitting next to the bar talking to a boy she is pretty sure hasn't seen in her life. She doesn't steady her look on him, she doesn't want him to notice her. She starts walking through the people dancing till she is in the yard. There is another bunch of people there. In the pool, in the chairs next to it, and on the terrace where there are more snacks and alcohol. 

She looks for the guys, she finds Ned hat and walks to them. 

”Nice shirt.” Ned is wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a clear hat. She says it in a sarcastic way but she does believe it's a nice shirt. Betty would say the same. 

”Thanks.” They both smile welcoming at her. ”Where is Betty?” He frowns confused. 

”Getting herself a drink.” She takes Doritos from the tray Peter has in his hands. 

”Ah. Okay.” He keeps drinking the pink drink with a straw that he has in hand. 

Peter and Michelle share a look. 

”Aren’t you going to look for her?” Peter questions him. 

”I don't know. I don't want to push it.” He gets smaller in his seat. MJ looks at him, then at Peter and he is doing a gesture with his hand, telling her it is her turn to talk.

”Okay loser, listen up. You have to go all-in with Betty. She wants to be chased and she wants to be shown that you care. She is in this as much as you are. So don't be here, drinking lemonade and go for the girl.” They are astonished, even her. 

”Are you sure?” She can feel Peter’s eyes on her, and she can resist the smile that is growing on her lips. 

”I'm always sure.” Ned gets up with a bright smile and fixes his hat. 

”Okay. Yeah, I'm going. Thank you.” He taps her shoulder and disappears behind the bay window. She sits in the chair, now empty. 

”I thought you weren't sappy.” He points at her with a Dorito, she steals it. 

”Shut up.” 

”Why didn't you tell him she likes him?” He takes another chip, she steals it again. He doesn't care. 

”For the same reason I haven't told anyone you are Spider-Man.” She sips the lemonade. ”Gross. This is the worst combination.” 

” Says the girl who eats pickles with peanut butter.” He steals the glass and takes a long sip.

”You have never tried it.” He catches the necklace with his eyes but moves them to the drink with a blush creeping his cheeks. He doesn't say anything about it. 

”I would try it when you go in a swing with me. Also, this is not that bad.” 

”I'm not swinging with you.”

”Then, I'm not eating pickles with peanut butter any time soon.” She looks for another snack on the table. ”Are you doing something with your family this summer?”

”Not really.” She finds Cheetos. ”My grandparents are coming to visit in August.” 

”Really? How is Granny Claire?” He takes another sip, still eyeing her.

”She is great.” 

”You should build your shelves. Your house is a mess with books everywhere.” 

”I know. I'll do it. Someday.” He starts eating  Flaming Hot Doritos . 

”May told me, to tell you, she really liked the book.”

”Of course she liked it. I'm the best for recommending books. That's a book worthy of May.” She recommended  The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo  because May told her she was oxidizing at reading books. 

”You never recommend me anything.” He says mouthful of Doritos. 

”I always give you comics before practice starts.” She doesn't pay much attention to the answer, looking for two Redbulls.

”That's your way of recommending me books?” He sounds offended. 

”Well, let's be honest, you don't even read the books that assign at school.” 

”I can read a book that doesn't have pictures in it, Em.” He deadpans 

”If the kid says.” She rolls her eyes breaking in a short laugh. 

”So, I finish the documentary.” He puts way too many Doritos in his mouth. 

”Did it interest you?”

”Yeah, but I didn't get if he killed his wife and made her a puppet or her wife kill herself, and because he missed her, he made her a puppet?” 

”They never knew it. But I'm pretty sure she killed herself.” 

”They found pills in her bedroom...” He keeps talking about the documentary and what he thinks, but Michelle only thinks he was interested enough in what she was saying that day in the cafeteria to watch the documentary. The fact that he has always cared and always will. And she knows he is not the murder mystery type, and yet. While he talks, she thinks in what Betty said, it's really what she has been thinking since she got in the car. And now the only thing that seems interesting enough to her are his swollen lips, redder than normal 'cause of the spicy of the Doritos. 

She wants to kiss him. And the first thing that comes to her mind is Betty smirking at her. 

She is so concentrated on his lips, she doesn't notice they stop moving and his face fall serious. He is looking past her.

”Everything okay?” She frowns at him.

”Brad is coming at ten.” She rolls her eyes, a bit for how of a nerd he is, and a lot because Brad found her. 

”MJ! Peter. How you guys doing?” They are sitting in the corner of the table, each on one side of it. So Brad takes a chair and puts it right in the corner, just in the middle of them.

”Well.” They talk at the same time.

”That's great. How was your birthday?” And now he is fully talking to her, excluding Peter from the conversation. 

”It was good.” She looks at Peter and he looks at the collar again. The corner of his mouth curved a little looking at the empty glass. 

”What did you do?”

”Oh, you know. I spend time with family.” And he starts rambling on about how he prefers to spend birthdays with family than friends. She did spend hers with friends, but they are her family after all. 

She has this new family now, May, Peter, Ned, Betty, and she is so happy to have these people by her side. Knowing they will be there when she needs them, and she will be there for them when they need her. 

She loves every single part of her life right now, as she has never loved before. 

And she doesn't like Peter Parker.

And she hated Betty for being so obnoxious. 

And she hates her because she is right. 

She hates herself for being a coward. 

”I will go to the bathroom.” She interrupts just when Brad was asking her something. She looks at him, then at Peter,whose confused eyes are already on her. ”Excuse me.” She leaves them alone, confused, and in an awkward silence. She doesn't care, she needs to be alone for a minute and clear her thoughts. 

She sees Ned and Betty dancing without caring. She sees Flash drunk with a girl. She sees Cindy five years older shaking her head in disapproval at him. 

She passes them.

She doesn't go to the bathroom that is next to the pool, neither the one on the first floor. She goes to the one on the second floor, because it's empty there. 

There is this large hallway, she can’t barely hear the music, cushioned on the walls. In the middle to the right is the bathroom.

She enters and she stares herself in the mirror. She lets down her hair from the low ponytail she had and massages her scalp. She shakes her head and tries to focus on the faucet. 

She has been observing Peter since she is fifteen. Been friends since she is sixteen. She has never said she liked him or given away any clue, and yet Betty decipher her well enough. 

She has a crush on him? Kinda. 

A little. 

A little too much.

She wets her face once, twice, and then she looks at herself. 

She is a goner. 

She dries her face and puts her hair up, looks at her neck where the flower hangs, she puts her hair down. 

When she is out of the door and walking through the hallway, she doesn't surprise when she sees Peter standing in the middle of it, blocking the way, because he is predictable. 

She is not. 

”Brad talks so much.” He has two cans of Redbull on his hand and an easy smile. ”It was so awkward when you left, but he didn't take much to start talking about how amazing you are.” He puts the cans on the floor, carefree. 

While she is having an emotional crisis. 

”And I was like, of course, she is amazing. But then...” Standing there, literally hearing him telling her how amazing she is, she can't hold it anymore. 

”I don't like you.” She bursts out. 

”What?” His face falls to a hurt expression.

So hurt. 

”That. I don't like you.” He looks like a wounded puppy. And his expression is between sadness and worry. ”I don't like how good you are, in any way possible. I don't like that you are perfect, and yet you are not. I don't like that you are Spider-Man and for sure don't like that you think you own something to this city when it has failed you so many times.” His hands are now on his pockets and his eyes are pointing to the floor. ”I don't like it when you don't look at me at the eyes when I'm talking” He snaps his head up, but his eyes don't catch hers. ” I don't like how cute you are and how ridiculously good looking you are.” Then he is confused, but with a bit of hope in his eyes. She hates herself for doing all this. ”God, what am I? My grandma? You are hot, and I don't like that.” He is red in a beat. ”I don't like you, at all. Not even a little. No even a sixty-seven percent.” 

There is a silence. Just the music far away in her ears. 

She wants to cry and that's a lot to say. 

They stare at each other for a minute, till he talks.

”I'm so sorry.” And apparently, he is not catching her clear message. ”That you feel like that, I'm going... I am... I will just...” And he points behind him. ”I will go to see what is Ned up to.”

And with that, she is done.

”Come on, Parker.” She takes his face with her hand abruptly and kisses him. 

It's short, just a peck. He doesn't expect that at all, because when they are apart he is with his eyes wide open, so is his mouth. He is so confused, and surprise, and just as gone as her. 

”What was that?” He doesn't move. Neither does she. 

”A peck?” And suddenly she is nervous. ”I'm bad at this, okay? So, apparently, it was my only way of telling you that-” She hesitates. ”That I... I li... I like you.” She murmurs, not very clear. She moves her eyes from his and takes her hands to herself.

”What?” He totally heard her. 

”I like you.” Still too low. 

”What?” He whispers, putting his hand on her chin making her look at him. 

”I like you.” She says loud and clear. ”And I have for a while now.” He grins ear to ear, and she doesn't even bother to hide hers. 

”That's great.” He breaths out with a chuckle. 

”Yeah?” 

”Yeah.” He puts his hand so gently on her cheek and draws her to him. 

This kiss is different. It's longer and deeper. It's still a bit awkward. But it's slow and so gentle, it's careful and she deepens in it. She puts her arms around his neck and he puts them on her waist. 

”I like you too, if it wasn't clear enough.” He breaks the kiss, but their lips touch when he talks.

”Good.” And they are kissing again. 

She smiles in the kiss, and they gain a bit more confidence. It's still so soft but desperate at the same time. It warms her inside and she melts at his embrace. 

Like Betty said, she is a lost cause. 

But too soon for her like, they need air. 

”You look really pretty, by the way.” He plays with the embroidery on her waist. She doesn't open her eyes. ”Like really pretty, so pretty.” The last part gets lost on her lips. 

She opens her mouth, they get even closer and she hears a weird remix of  _ You Belong With Me  _ in the far away. 

And to be fair. Taylor Swift kinda advert her about this all the afternoon. 

”Oh and by the way.” She says against his lips. ”Betty knows that you are Spider-Man.” 

”What the-”

She doesn't let him finish. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the mistakes, English it's not my first language. I tried my best. But I just love them so much, I couldn't resist. Some songs are just there for the title, don't relate much. 
> 
> (No one is reading this so)


End file.
